THE DIARY by Richard Fidler

HS2 need further thought

In the real world HS2 – the high-speed rail network that will link London with the regions – may seem an aeon away from arriving in Sheffield city centre but the debate rumbles on.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the decision to bring HS2 into the city centre it has come to light that the Sheffield city region may still get an out-of-town ‘parkway’ station on the mainline.

This is likely to be located in one of eight locations identified by HS2 Ltd, namely, in south to north order Wales, Bramley, Hooten Roberts, Conisbrough/Mexborough, Hickleton, Clayton – and Hemsworth and Crofton in West Yorkshire.

A recent article in the Nottingham Post said that up to 10,000 jobs could be created around the HS2 hub in Toton with a proposed 10-minute shuttle service into Nottingham and Derby city centres.

In my opinion this should have been the thinking behind the main South Yorkshire station. In effect we have no got a spur line into Sheffield which will mean journey times are longer from London to Sheffield than they are from London to Leeds.

The real opportunity lies with the ‘parkway’ station further to the east. It’s position – closer to Doncaster/Sheffield airport, near where there are junctions for the M1, M18, M62, M18 and A1 and lots of land ripe for development – will make it attractive to all sorts of industries.

We’ll leave the infighting on the city region devolution deal for another day but it’s clear to see that Sheffield needs to work closely with its neighbouring authorities.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council should be pleading to have the ‘parkway’ station within their boundaries.
And Sheffield City Council should hope they get it as the big city will likely benefit as much, if not more, from it rather than the spur.

All this is a long way off but decisions are being made now and the benefits will begin to trickle down. The region can’t miss out again.

Bring home the bacon with top networking

What are your thoughts on networking events?

Are you an arch-networker and never miss your chance to put your business card in the draw to win a bottle of wine or do you feel physically sick at the thought of having to make small talk with a group of people you have never met before?

In the next issue of unLTD we’ll be looking at some of the best networking events across Sheffield and finding out what makes the perfect one. I must admit I’m not a huge fan but if I know someone is there who I get on well with and haven’t seen for a while then it makes me more enthusiastic. And bacon sandwiches also work well.

Ikea arrival is long overdue for shoppers

Sometimes a building just fits right in. The new Ikea near Meadowhall can’t be described as an architectural masterpiece but it seems like it has always been there.

Already people are flocking to the store to either have arguments or sample the famous meatballs. Some attention/freebie-seekers are even using it to create social media posts that they hope will go viral.

The question I want to ask, though, is why it took so long to bring Ikea to the city? I hate the term ‘no-brainer’ but, duh.